The Origin of Felicity Smoak-Stark
by QuakeMaySimmons
Summary: Felicity Smoak isn't a simple girl. When two criminals hell bent of making her theirs escape custody - Oliver isn't equipped to keep her safe himself but doesn't have too when her family turns up to help - who knew Felicity was related to the Avengers?
1. Chapter 1

Felicity POV

How did not know? For someone who has been leading a double life for a few years he really was oblivious to the world going on around him. I was sitting at my desk, texting with my sister when I heard him come through the door, late again. "You have a meeting to get to Mr Queen," I said, eyes narrowing at his look of shame, "it's a good thing you're _executive assistant_ can get everything she needs for the meeting from company files" I said, voice laced with sarcasm as I handed him a manila folder filled with what he needed for the meeting. He looked at me sheepishly as he took the folder, "I'm sor…" he began but was silenced by me raising my hand "Save it for the meeting mister, now go" I said, as he was turning to leave, Oliver grabbed a hold of my hand, noticing the bruise on the top of my arm that had revealed itself from where I had hidden it this morning with my dress, "Is someone hurting you," he growled in a low voice, "No!" I said, maybe a bit too quickly – noticing my mistake and Oliver's continued stare, "I walked into the door, you know me complete clutz!" I added, smiling as Oliver, before re-raising my own eyebrow, "Oliver, lunch meeting! Go now!" I ordered him, before turning back to my computer and continuing with my work. Hearing his gruff sigh and retreating footsteps, I let out the breath I didn't realise I was holding as the Amber doors slid closed. I picked up my phone again and smiled, deciding that I was finished for the day, I left a note on Oliver's computer telling him that I would meet him at the Foundry later that night. After taking the elevator to the parking garage, I noticed that I had another message this time from my father, asking about my plans for the evening. Letting him know I was busy I made my way home. The 20-minute drive to my house was a quiet one – that I didn't usually make until much later in the night, but I needed to clear my head before heading to the Foundry. How could I have made that mistake; how could I have let him see that bruise! I got carried away with a training dummy and it hit me in the arm. I don't know why I don't just tell Oliver about the training, or my family…but he wouldn't understand, Oliver likes to think of me as his damsel in distress, a helpless IT girl that he could swoop in and save at the last minute, but that isn't who I am. I had thought about telling Oliver before, but he was dealing with too much personally, and probably wouldn't take the news well, my father being a corporate rival and all. Oh well, I decided on my drive home that I was going to train today, I had been slacking since I joined team arrow, though Diggle kept insisting on teaching me basic self-defence, something I learned from one of my sisters and my aunt years ago. On my note I had told Oliver that I would be at the Foundry by nine. Looking at the clock in my car, I saw that it was only two in the afternoon, I had four hours to kill before heading back out.

After in-putting the security code at the door of my apartment, I headed into my bedroom to change into something more comfortable, I decided that if I was training, I was going to do it properly, and settled on a tactical suit, as I hadn't trained in one for almost a month, and then headed out of my bedroom. There was a large painting in my hallway that had a plaque next to it detailing the history and artist of the painting. After looking at the large painting for a few more moments, I stepped forwards and slid the plaque to the side revealing the palm print and retinal scanners. After putting in my information, I slid the plaque back over and waited for the painting to swing open. Stepping through I made my descent to the basement section of my home.

Only the Six people closest to me in the world knew about this section of my home, not even Oliver and Diggle were privy to the information yet. As I entered the sub-level basement filled with the most cutting-edge computer systems and gym equipment, stuff that even Queen Consolidated Applied Sciences division had yet to dream up, was sitting in the bunker curtesy of my father. I made my way to the computers and input my passwords, waiting for the sound that let me know if anyone had tried to contact me in the last few hours. Satisfied when I saw that nothing new had come through, I headed over to the other side of the bunker that housed the gym equipment. Taking my time with my stretches, I happily begun my usual warmup routine before heading to the combat simulation section of the room. If only Oliver knew about this, I thought to myself as I swung my Katana through the holographic enemies that had been set up during my last update, he thought I was just a helpless IT girl that needed protection from the world, he didn't have a clue – who my father was, what my life was before I began working at QC, I would happily tell him, if he ever bothered to ask. After about thirty minutes of Katana work, I had completed the simulation and was heading towards were I had left my water bottle when I heard the beep of one of my computer programs, the one linked to the Foundry. It was a small convenience store being robbed, nothing that the arrow needed to handle, so I sent the information straight through to SSPD, before moving onto a hand to hand combat training with a dummy, I heard another notification on my system, this time from my personal network. Distracted momentarily, the swinging arm of the dummy came around and whipped me on the forearm, bruising almost instantly. Breaking stance, I headed over and tapped alert on the touch screen and waited for my decryption programs to work, checking for any tracking software in the process. 10 seconds later the message was displayed in full, it was from my aunt, asking if I could run a background check on a someone her team was looking for. As I set to work, I sifted through all of their phone records, transaction history and everything on the internet, from Facebook profile and high-school marks, to social security number, that was my specialty – if it was on the internet, I could find it. After compiling the information and sending it back to my aunt, I cursed when I saw the time, I only had an hour before I had to be at the Foundry, and I needed to be IT extraordinaire.

After freshening up and finding a light cardigan to cover both the bruise on my shoulder and the new one on my wrist. I drove back to the foundry where I found Oliver and Digg locked in a sparring match, Diggle nodded at me when I greeted them, and I got a grunt from Oliver before they went back to pounding each other into the mats, if only I could join in I thought as I set up my babies to run the search algorithms, taking off my cardigan without thinking when something popped up that made my stomach flip. They were here, in Starling. I felt a hand on my shoulder and jumped around to see Oliver, standing over my chair, he was about to ask about the alert when I heard a low growl, and suddenly my arm was in his hand. I looked up and saw murder in his eyes. My arm was in his iron grip, he and Digg were going to take this entirely the wrong way and think I'm even weaker. My fears were confirmed when he spoke again. "Who did this to you Felicity," Oliver asked, voice dangerously quiet as Digg came up beside him, I looked on in shock before standing up to level with him, "No one," I countered as he and Digg looked at each other pointedly, "I was in my house and I walked into the low floating shelf, the one that you installed in the hallway outside my bedroom, remember" I said to Oliver, eyebrow raised. Before he had a chance to protest there was a security alert on the monitor, and I sunk back down into my chair, trying to get the surveillance footage when I heard footsteps behind me. Quick as a flash Oliver had his bow and arrow drawn and was pointing it into the darkness. "Please put that down Mr Queen, we have much to discuss" said a voice from the shadows, a voice that I thought I wouldn't hear in person for a long time, causing me to freeze, "And we've got a mutual friend" he continued, stepping out of the shadows. Still frozen, I turned around and was faced with five people that I knew all too well. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE" Oliver yelled in the arrow voice, "And what mutual friend" Oliver growled in addition, moving to block me from their view.

Shit. I thought to myself – I knew that this was bound to happen, that Oliver and Digg would find out about this part of my life during a time of crisis and I cursed myself for not telling them sooner. Pausing for a breath, I got up from my chair and forced myself between and in front of Oliver and Digg, taking a step forward Oliver tried to pull me back by the wrist, I turned and shot him a glare and he backed off. Pausing again for a breath, I faced the group of six – hoping that this wasn't a dream. "How do I know that it's you?" I said to the group, eyebrow raised like my aunt taught me. One of the group stepped forward, her new bangs framing her face "When we were seven years old, we decided that it would be a good idea to wear fuzzy socks under out dresses at a Stark gala so we could slide around the ballroom together" she said confidently, stepping forward to close the gap between us, "and we got so carried away that dad had to send us home with Happy" she continued. "We got in so much trouble" I whispered back to her, "I've missed you so much" I whispered as we wrapped each other in a hug, soon enough the other five members of my family joined the hug, much to the dismay of Oliver who still had his bow drawn, and Digg who just looked confused. I was still in the middle of a bone crushing hug from the members of my old team and family, "We miss you so much Flissy" the brown-haired girl said, and Oliver just lost it.

"PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT IS HAPPENING IN MY SECRET BASE FE-LI-CI-TY" he yelled. Pulling out of the hug I looked from Oliver, bow still drawn to my family, "Oliver Queen, John Diggle, please meet my family, My uncle Agent Phil Coulson, my aunt Agent Melinda May, My best friend Agent Jemma Simmons, My other best friend Agent Leo Fitz, and my sister, Agent Daisy Johnson, of S.H.I.E.L.D" I said proudly, "they're my family, so we can trust them a hundred percent," I added firmly after viewing Oliver's face, he reluctantly lowered his bow as I turned to the group. "Now, business, I assume you didn't come for a social visit uncle Phil" I posed the question to Coulson, "No" he responded, "as much as I want this to be a social call Fliss we've got a situation, and I think you'll want to be sitting down to hear it," he said in his agent voice. Doing as I was told, much to the surprise of Oliver and Digg, I took a seat next to Jemma and Fitz, while May moved closer to where I was sitting. Oh boy I thought. "He's out," Phil said, looking at the ground, "Ward escaped custody and he knows where you are, we lost him after he booked a ticket to Starling," the pain in his voice was lost to me as I felt my chest constrict, and there was no oxygen left in the room. The only thing that kept me from falling was my aunt's hand on my shoulder, not talking but supporting. She had always been an anchor for me in times of crisis. Just as I was regaining the ability to breath, Coulson turned around again "I'm so sorry Fliss, it gets worse" he said, dropping completely out of agent voice and into protective uncle, "Cooper Seldon is with him, they're working together…I'm so sorry Fliss" he said, as I tried to process the information. When I put two and two together, I lost all composure, all I could manage was a strangled "NO" before my entire world began spinning. I barely registered the world around me "Who are those guys" I heard Oliver begin as my vision became spotty "and how do they know…FELICITY" was the last thing I heard as my head hit May's hands an inch off of the floor, and the last things I saw were her eyes flash with concern as the world faded to black.


	2. Chapter 2

Felicity POV

Everything was still spinning as I came too. I could faintly hear the distinctive growl of the arrow voice as I tried to sit up, only to be stopped by a wave of dizziness, everyone was too busy being defensive to notice I was trying to sit up, when suddenly everything became clear with a single shout. "EVERYBODY LISTEN" Oliver yelled in the full Arrow voice, "Felicity may trust you, but I don't. not yet, so someone please explain to me who you are, and why those names made Felicity faint, or I swear to everything high and mighty someone will get hurt" he said, volume lowering dangerously, I knew that I needed to step in.

Forcing myself to sit up fully, I saw that Oliver had re-drawn his bow and was pointing it right at Daisy, who had taken up her Quake stance. Someone was going to get seriously hurt if the situation escalated further. And from experience I knew that it wasn't going to be Daisy. Standing was much harder than I anticipated, and I let out a cry as I started to fall again, only to be caught by the firm hands of Aunt May, who I knew would be talking to me later about recovery times. Forcing myself to stand independently I moved to directly in front of Daisy, to the pointy end of Oliver's arrow. "Put. That. Down" I said calmly, "These people are my FAMILY Oliver. We can trust them a hundred percent, they're the top operatives at S.H.I.E.L.D, they figured out your secret all on their own. I didn't tell them anything." Still looking me in the eye, Oliver lowered his bow reluctantly as I continued again. "Those names…are the names of people who have done some extremely horrible things, I can't explain. I'll have to show you." My voice was still a little more shaky than I wanted it to be as Daisy took a hold of my hand, "Fliss, you know that looking at those photos isn't a good idea. There's a reason they were in the Fridge, the Hawkeye wannabe's eyes almost popped out of his skull when you fainted – what's he going to do when he sees what they did to you?" she whispered. I thought about this for a moment, seeing those photos was something I never wanted to do again, but they made me into who I am today. "I know Daze, but I would rather he found out from me know, and not later if they actually find me" I answered, hoping my voice was stronger than I felt. I locked eyes with her for a few moments before she relented, pointing down at the computers, "Well, Dad is going to find out…I wouldn't be surprised if he's already seen the news and is on his way to Starling. I didn't let AC tell him because we wouldn't have made it here alive to warn you without a classic family freak-out" she said, trying to keep the air light. I hadn't even thought of telling dad. The very thought of telling him the men that made me leave New York, the men that still haunted my nightmares had escaped the most secure prison facility in the world made me feel like there was a stone in my throat. Swallowing hard I turned back to Daisy, "If he doesn't already know, I'll call and let everyone know after Diggle and Oliver are caught up. But we'll need to go to my place to get them, I put so many encryptions on those files that even working together we wouldn't be able to access them from here" I said to Daisy who nodded in agreement. "Aunt May, Uncle Coulson – you guys remember the way back to my place?" I asked, waiting for the nod before they headed out of the Foundry to their transport. Following them up the stairs, I looked back at Oliver and Diggle, who seemed frozen to the floor, "You guys coming or not?" I called from halfway out the door. Waiting for a moment before I heard their distinctive footsteps behind me, I walked them both to my car – motioning for them both to get in.

We drove in silence for a few minutes before Oliver finally cracked. "Felicity," he began calmly, "when were you planning on telling us that you have family that work for a GOVERNMENT AGENCY" he ended up yelling, as Digg called out a "HEY" in an effort to calm him down. "When were you going to ask me about my family Oliver" I said back to him equally mad, "you have never once expressed the slightest interest in my life outside of my hacking skills, I would have happily told you if you only had the initiative to ask" I said coldly, relishing a little in the face that Oliver made before continuing, "and just so you are painfully aware, my aunt is a woman that puts Sara's skills to shame, my uncle is the head of S.H.I.E.L.D, my sister has powers and my best friends are the most influential scientists of their age, don't cross them" giving Oliver a stern look, "Or me for that matter, I am far more skilled beyond computers" I added before turning my eyes back to the road. The rest of the journey was made in silence, with occasional eye-contact with Digg, who was taking the news surprisingly well.

When we finally made it to my house, I had to steel myself once again. After I stepped out of the car, I opened the front door by inputting the security code, before ushering them in the front door. Stopping in the front room of my house, I doubled back to make sure the door was locked fully before I took off my jacket and turned to face Oliver and Digg, who were looking at me with caution "Now there are a few more important things that you need to know before we go any further," I said, looking them both in the eyes as the security system told me that my family had inputted their own codes to enter the house, "because of my family, who my father is specifically, I have had to keep a lot of my true self hidden. When we go through this next door, you can ask questions, and I will do my best to answer them as honestly as I can." As I finished Oliver looked like he was about to ask something when I cut him off quickly, "please wait until we are somewhere more secure." He looked at me quizzically for a moment before we were joined by Coulson and the team. Nodding at May's assessment of the perimeter I lead the group into the hallway with the giant painting. I stood for a moment, bracing myself before I slid the plaque back an input the necessary security measures, ignoring the choking sound that Digg made in excitement when the painting swung open. I lead them both down the stairs towards the basement, making sure that Coulson's team were following. Satisfied that everyone was in the small hallway after I got the okay message from Daisy, I opened the second door and did nothing to hid my smirk as Oliver and Digg took in the 'basement' of my home. After meeting my eyes for a moment, I nodded – giving them permission to explore the space. Almost immediately Oliver saw the salmon ladder that I had in my gym and raised an eyebrow at me. I took this as a challenge, so without muttering a word I walked over to the equipment in question and grabbed the bar. Looking for a moment at May who just smiled encouragingly, I made my way up and down the ladder much to the dismay of Oliver, who looked both impressed and like someone had just ruined his magic trick when he noticed that I hadn't even broken a sweat. And I was still in a dress.

All of a sudden Oliver's focus was pulled to the computer bank of the room when he heard a choking sound. "This is a Stark computer…" Digg said almost painfully, "how in the hell did you get your hands on a Stark computer? One that's not even out yet!" he continued after spotting the logo that stated, StarkF6. I looked at him for a moment before answering, "You guys never did ask me what my full family name is you know," I said, looking between the two of them. Before either of them could say anything in their own defence, May cut in, "You never asked for her full name?" she said, voice low, "This" she continued, before shooting a pointing look, mainly at Oliver, "Is Felicity Megan Smoak-Stark, daughter of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts." The looks on Oliver and Diggs faces was one that spoke volumes, the second May had finished talking their Jaws hit the floor.

"Thanks May," I said, trying to stifle my laughter at Oliver and Diggle's faces, "and to answer your question Digg, I have these computers because dad and I developed them together. Where do you think the F comes from in the StarkF computer line?" I said with amusement. All Digg could do was open and close his mouth.

Turning away from him as Daisy came up beside me, "Sweet digs sis, but we've got to show Digg and master grumpy archer over there why you fainted not even half an hour ago, remember?" she questioned pointedly. While I enjoyed the nickname that she had given Oliver I knew that all hell was going to break loose when I showed him what was in the file, so I whispered quietly to Daisy, "you're going to have to restrain Oliver when he sees this, he doesn't take well to people being in danger. Me specifically at the moment." Nodding, she silently made her way over to where Oliver was standing as I sat down at the centre computer. My hands were shaking as I guided them to the folder in which I kept the level 10 clearance S.H.I.E.L.D documents. No one but myself and Fury had access to these files, they didn't even make it into his toolbox for Coulson.

I felt May place an anchoring hand on my uninjured shoulder and clicked open the file. Looking those monsters in the face was never easy. I could only look at the faces of Grant Ward and Cooper Seldon for a few seconds before I had to turn away, looking at Oliver and Digg. "Meet Grant Ward and Cooper Seldon, two of the worst people I have ever had the displeasure of knowing," I started before I met Coulson's eyes and silently begged him to continue for me. Taking my silent plea, he continued "Ward and Seldon were in a secure facility called the Fridge, it's a place were S.H.I.E.L.D used to keep their most infamous criminals and alien technology. They were there for cyber-stalking, harassment, kidnapping, grievous bodily harm and attempted murder" he said grimly, as Oliver face became like stone. "Of who?" He growled, looking between Coulson and myself. Swallowing, I braced myself and tapped to the next image in the folder. Nothing could have prepared me for the guttural sounds that Oliver, Digg, Jemma and Fitz made. I forgot momentarily that I hadn't shown Jemma and Fitz the photos from immediately after my rescue, they had only seen me in person the moth after. Immediately, Oliver tried to rush forward but was pushed against the wall with a blast of Daisy's powers. After noting Oliver's shocked expression, I thanked her with my eyes before looking back at the offending images. I couldn't believe that it had been six years ago. It was the incident that made me go blonde. Looking at the scared brunette in the pictures it was easy to see why everyone reacted the way that they did. There wasn't a inch of skin that wasn't covered in a blossom of black and blue. There were a few gashes on my face, and my arms were bloody. But the thing that stood out to me the most was the pool of blood at my hip. You couldn't tell in the picture, but there on my hip-bone were the letters CS and GW, carved into my skin. I could still feel them every time I was in the shower, a constant reminder of the hell I endured. My hand made its way subconsciously to the spot where the letters sat, now as angry scar tissue. The reminder of the devils that plagued my life.

Eventually, Oliver stopped fighting Daisy and she let him down off the wall. He was still for a few moments before he locked eyes with me and then Coulson. "We need to put these animals back in their cages. I've got one in the south China sea" he said to the room, that collectively nodded in agreement. Looking from face to face and assuring Jemma and Fitz that I was truly okay with eye contact I sat down at the computers and put facial recognition to good use. Just as I was about to turn back to the group, I heard the tell-tale mechanical click of someone accessing my basement. Knowing exactly who was headed through the door I felt Daisy at my side instantly as everyone else took up a fighting stance. "WHERE ARE THEY!" said a voice from the hallway, as I audibly groaned and leant into Daisy. Noticeably relaxing, the S.H.I.E.L.D agents lowered their weapons as Coulson shouted "IN HERE MAN" to the voice. Oliver and Diggle, still not convinced everything was alright remained primed for a fight but were stunned as the figure rounded the corner and let out a relived "OH THANK GOD!"

"Hey Dad…I was just about to call" I started as I was pulled into a bone crushing hug. "That's…that's" was all Digg managed to say before my father spun back around to face them and cut him off. "Stark, Tony Stark. How are ya Melly, Agent?" he said excitedly to May and Coulson before noticing Jemma and Fitz, "And the science twins!" he continued with his usual vibrato, giving them each a handshake or a pat on the back, "Daze! My girl! Come here, family hug!" was all I heard before I was pulled into another crushing hug from my dad and Daisy.

After making sure everyone was properly greeted, dad turned around and acknowledged the two-other people in the room who hadn't moved since he had arrived. "You two must be team arrow!" he said, with a strange tone to his voice, "You must be Mr Diggle," he said matching stance with Digg who almost blushed in awe, before he turned to Oliver. There was no mistaking the ice in his voice, "You. Must be Oliver Queen. The famous Hawkeye wannabe, Green Arrow! Who decided that MY girl, the most promising and over qualified IT girl in the world, nay the universe should be demoted to your EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT!" He yelled as I groaned, "Dad! Leave Oliver alone, he only found out about you guys today and we'll yell at him together later. Right now, we have a bigger issue, like how long we have before Ward and Seldon try and come for me again! Or how long it will take for Natasha to hear the news and leave her assignment to guard me!" I said pointedly. After a grumble of agreement from my father the group turned back to the screens in front of me, just as a new alert registered. Facial recognition had a hit. I pulled up the location and almost fainted again. As Ward's face came up on the screen, on the Queen Consolidated lobby security camera. I gulped and faced the crowd of people, "We have to get out of Starling. Now"


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N – Hi everyone! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! Please let me know any suggestions on what you want to see! Let me know what you think!**_

Felicity POV

"WHAT" Oliver yelled as the image came up on the screens, the anger in his voice palpable as he followed the man in question through the lobby with his eyes. The murderous look in his eyes evident as the man in question made his way into the building. "We need to go, now" I said to my dad, who nodded and left the bunker. It took me a second to look back at Oliver, "I need to go Oliver, but I need you to stay here and run QC" I said, holding up my hand to stop him from interrupting, "I need you to go along with the meeting that Ward just made with you, and I need you to go now so that we can leave, and you can meet us in New York tomorrow when I've organised you a one on one meeting with Stark Industries, Okay" I said firmly, daring him with my eyes to protest. Finally relenting, Oliver ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "What time is this meeting tomorrow?" he asked. "It's at 10am, I won't be there because I've had a family emergency, I'm emailing personnel now" I said just as Tony walked back into the room. Coming to a stop behind May, Tony whispered something in her ear and she nodded slightly, heading out of the room – taking Jemma, Fitz and Coulson with her. They were headed to the bus, which was now clear to land at the tower. After finishing the emails I was writing, first to HR and then to the board of directors from Oliver's personal account I turned my chair around to face the people that remained in the room. Now, it was just Dad, Daisy, Oliver, Digg and myself. After a moment of silence, I turned to Tony, "Everything ready to go?" I asked, and after confirmation, nod turned to look back at Oliver and Digg. "Now, Digg, you're not going to like this" I started, fully aware of what his reaction to my statement would be, "but you're going to stay here with Oliver." He looked for a moment like he was going to protest, but I pushed on before he got the chance, "because if I'm right – and I'm Felicity Stark-Smoak so I know that I am – Ward and Seldon will have learnt everything about me that the can since they got out of jail, and that includes the attach from Count Vertigo, that you were both spotted with me afterwards, there was a photo of us together, so if you're not with Oliver – because you are his bodyguard, Ward is going to put two and two together and realise Oliver knows who he is." I said quickly, and after a moment of trepidation, Digg sighed in defeat, "I hate it when you're right about these situations Felicity. Oliver and I will head back to the Foundry and pack up, we wont patrol tonight. We'll get ready for a meeting with this scumbag and then meet you guys in New York the next day, right Oliver?" he finished, trying to pull Oliver by his elbow, but he wouldn't budge. Instead, he shook off Diggle and walked straight towards me, stopping about an inch from where I was sitting. "How do I know that you'll be safe?" he almost growled at me. His look became somewhat unreadable when I gave him May's patented, 'seriously' eyebrow, and stood up, motioning for him to follow. Realising what I was about to do, Daisy could barely keep her face straight as I headed towards the combat training section of my basement, my eyes not leaving Oliver's. As I got to the mats, I changed my mind slightly and instead of picking up a katana like I had been practicing with before the day had gone to hell I picked up a bow staff. Handing one to Oliver, I saw the alarm in his eyes as he hastily tried to back away, "I'm not going to hurt you fel-" he started to say, but was cut off by Daisy, who had realised that Oliver was going to go easy on me, so she stepped in – grabbing the staff from his hands and attacking me at full speed.

Oliver POV

I really didn't like the direction I was headed, Felicity had grabbed me by the hand and was dragging me towards what I assumed was a combat training area that her family must use when they stay. My eyes widened when felicity handed me a bow staff like she intended me to fight her, "I'm not going to hurt you fel-" I started before I was hit in the side by what I assumed was another blast of Daisy's powers. Before I knew it she had grabbed the staff from me and charged at Felicity. I almost turned away as the staff made its descent towards Felicity. Expecting to hear the sickening sound of bones breaking, instead, I was stunned into shock by the sound of clanging metal, Felicity had taken up another staff and was engaging with her sister, a trained field officer. The way the two danced around each other was entrancing, it was almost like watching the video footage of the Black Widow fighting the aliens in New York. Suddenly over the clanging of the staffs, I was hit with a memory that suddenly made perfect sense now.

 _Oliver was walking the halls of the IT department at Queen Consolidated, looking for the ray of sunshine he was seriously considering letting in on his night work. When he made it to her office, he was surprised to see a different blonde-haired woman sitting at her desk, twirling a red pen through her fingers as she used Felicity's computers with ease, something most of the people in IT couldn't do to save themselves. "Excuse me," I said, as the woman looked up, eyes narrowing as I entered the office, "I'm looking for Felicity Smoak, this is still her office right?" I asked, knowing full well that Felicity had not moved offices. "Yup this is hers," the woman said flatly, though there was something in her eyes that told me that something bad had happened, I was a little startled when she continued talking though, "Felicity has taken a few personal days. She has family in New York, and had to get there as soon as possible to make sure that they're okay, you know, alien invasion." She said, like that was a totally normal thing for someone to do. "Okay…I'll come back in a few days then," I said, turning around and walking out of the office. Stopping for a moment outside the door when I heard the woman talk again, this time with an edge of something else, almost protectiveness, "Fliss you need to sort out whatever the hell is happening between you and Oliver freaking Queen, he just walked in here looking like someone kicked his puppy when he saw me and not you." I took a second to process what the woman in Felicity's office had said, he didn't look like that, did he? The second I tried to ponder the situation more, I got a text from Digg, we had a hit on the list. Time to put the hood on._

Realising that Felicity had gone to New York to visit Tony Stark suddenly made that memory resurface, and my strange concoction of feelings to stir with it. But I squashed those down again for the moment. And turned my full attention back to what was happening in front of me. Felicity, still in a dress and heels from earlier had abandoned using the staff and was not performing accurate hand to hand martial arts with her sister, who looked like she was just getting started, when Tony Stark stepped forward. "Fliss, do you still have locker 26A in here?" he questioned and looked on in glee when Felicity grunted a 'yes' at him before sending a spinning kick at Daisy's head. When all of a sudden, a Felicity did a back handspring towards a wall, where she pushed a button in and watched as an orange light near one of the computers turned on. Suddenly, there was a look on Daisy's face that matched the one that Tony had only moments ago. "Jarvis, welcome back," Felicity said. "It's a pleasure to be back Miss Felicity," said a British voice, seemingly from nowhere. "Please open locker 26A, Dad's trying to find it and won't be happy till he sees it. And it's just Felicity" she said to the voice in the sky. "Of course, Felicity" the voice, I'm assuming its name is Jarvis. Suddenly, Tony is walking back into the room at the same time as something flies in from the other room and flies towards Felicity, attaching to her back as she flipped gracefully over Daisy again. Everyone watched on in awe as the plate on her back spread, slowly covering her entire body in what looked like a purple and black version of the iron man suit. Landing in the iconic iron man landing pose, she turned to look at me, smirking as the nanotech face plate moves out of the way. "I will be safe Oliver, I promise," she said, looking directly into my eyes. I was too shocked to answer, and so was Digg, so we just stood there gawping until she had walked back to the centre console as the suit retracted and became two bracelets, one on each wrist. "You okay Oliver?" said Daisy, almost amused as she put away the two bow staffs.

After taking a few minutes to process what I had just seen, I finally had to admit to myself that there was so much we didn't know about Felicity and made our way back to the staircase. "You'll let me know when you get to New York – right?" I asked her, she nodded after wiping the tiny beads of sweat from around her face. "I'll send a car to the airport when your jet arrives, the person I send will ask you a question that I will send you the answer too on the way over," she said, smiling as we left the basement, bemused. There was so much we needed to learn.

Felicity POV

The look on Oliver's face when my suit came out was the best thing that had happened all day. And sparing with Daisy had been amazing. "We need to do that more often Fliss, you're getting rusty," Daisy said with a smile, before turning back to our dad. "Everything ready pops?" She questioned, asking with her eyes how we were getting home. "Definitely kiddos, the Quinjet just landed in the yard. Let's get you home." He said proudly, leading Daisy and I back through my house. I walked slowly behind Daisy and Tony, making sure that my systems were shut down and everything was completely secure just in case they found out where this house was. After double checking that it was almost impenetrable, I made my way to the backyard of the house, stopping for a moment to marvel at the Quinjet in all its glory. It had been almost two years since I had seen one, and I was itching to have a look at the upgraded systems and look for ways to improve. "Come on Fliss!" Dad yelled, "The sooner you get in here the sooner we can talk tech!" he hollered as I ran up the ramp. I didn't have anything with me besides my tablet and phone, knowing too well that the second I had purchased something in Starling an identical item was snatched up by Dad or Pepper for my floor at the tower.

Making my way up the entry ramp was a strangely familiar feeling. Looking back at the back of the jet slowly closed upwards, seeling us inside for the flight back to New York City. Once we had taken off, Jarvis took over the flight controls and dad made his way back to where I was trying to tinker with one of the hydraulic arms that opened an ammo box. Apparently, I was too tired to do anything productive or even fight back when dad and Daisy each grabbed one of my arms, leading me to the small cot on the side of the jet. Daisy helped me lay down, and I felt sleep draw me into her dark clutches.

A sudden thudding sound drew me from my light slumber. Groggily I realised that we must have made it back to the tower, and that lack of sleep was finally catching up to me big time if I was out for the entire flight. Rubbing my eyes slowly as I adjusted to the bright sun of New York, I waited for the ramp to open completely before heading to where Daisy and dad were standing. Linking my arm through Daisy's we made our way down the ramp when we were suddenly tackled by a large mop of strawberry-blonde, almost red hair. "Oh my god you're okay!" the woman sobbed into my hair, before turning to pull Daisy into a bone-crushing hug. Then grabbing us both. "Hey mom, I'm okay," I said, trying to escape from Pepper's hug, not being one to let go, Pepper just pulled Daisy and me closer until I couldn't breathe anymore. "Mom…can't…breathe!" I choked out, then she finally released me from her clutches, but still kept her hand on my arm, like she was afraid that I would disappear. Leading Daisy and me into the tower, Dad was excitedly showing off all the improvements that he had made since the battle of New York and was relaying his plans for the new avengers facility. As we made out way into the elevator down into the main living space, we were greeted by Jarvis. "Welcome back to the tower Miss Daisy, Miss Felicity" the British voice stated, and lick clockwork Daisy and I replied, "Drop the Miss, J. It's good to be back." Laughing at the synchronicity of our answers, I didn't even realise the doors had opened until Pepper lead me to the centre of the room. It took me a second to register the people standing there, May and Coulson were there with Jemma and Fitz, who must have left Starling just before we did – but what surprised me most were the four people standing just in front of them. It took me a moment before I was flying into the middle of the group, latching on to them with a sob. "Uncle Nick, Maria! Tasha, Bobbi – you're here!" I heaved into the centre of the hug. "Of course we're here Fliss, you're in danger. We help when family is in danger," Bobbi said firmly as Tasha and Uncle Nick nodded in agreement. "Were you guys not on important assignments?" I asked slowly when I withdrew from the hug, eyeing Nick suspiciously. "They were. But they insisted on being here, and I wasn't going to stop them – we needed to be here too. As Bobbi said, we're family Felicity" Nick said, meeting my gaze with a passion that I hadn't seen since the last round of this ordeal. I nodded and after a moment suggested that we move towards the couches, as the emotional toll of the day was beginning to take effect.

Being sandwiched on the large couches between my sisters was something that had not happened in a long while. It reminded me fondly of when I first came to live in the Stark household, I had just turned eight…

 _The rain was slowly dripping down the windows of the town car, watching the patterns that they created I reflected on the events of the last few hours. Who'd have thought that my life would have changed so dramatically because of my social awkwardness? I had no idea how to be a normal kid. My father had abandoned me when I was four, and my mother died when I was five. Three years later, I was flitting between foster homes and orphanages. I had learned early on that the ideal forever-family was something I was never going to have – so I turned to computers. I had found solace in the straightforward parts that when put together, I was seven when I put my first computer together in the back room of my school that a nice teacher let me use. After she saw what I had built, she entered it into the Stark Technology Junior Inventor competition – and I won. The moment that Tony Stark realised that I had no parents, that I lived in the orphanage and had built this from what was essentially trash, I was whisked into a back room of the orphanage – where Mr Stark was visiting me as a part of my prize, and suddenly he was signing adoption papers and chattering excitedly about all the things we were going to build together, and now I was in the back of this car, being driven to Stark Tower. Apparently, I was going to live there. But I had my doubts, people always sent back the weird anti-social girl that didn't talk to anyone and spent all her time building things. I was half listening to what Mr Stark was saying, something about the three girls he had already adopted – Barbra, who went by Bobbi was seventeen, Natasha who was fifteen and Daisy who was ten. Apparently, they had all come from bad situations, but had found a home at Stark Tower, he was hoping that I would find one as well._

 _Mr Stark had called ahead and told Bobbi, Natasha and Daisy about their new sister, and they were excited. The second that I was ushered into the large elevator, Mr Stark said something to a person that wasn't there, "Jarvis, this is Felicity – she is going to be living with us from now on, please add her to the family database." Just as I was about to say something about him being silly, a British voice filled the elevator "Of course Mr Stark" the voice said, "and welcome to Stark Tower Miss Felicity – I so hope you enjoy your stay" he finished. "Artificial Intelligence assistant?" I questioned softly, and the look on Mr Starks face was one of pure, unadulterated joy as he nodded enthusiastically as Pepper held a hand to her forehead. It was at that moment I knew that I was going to like it here._

 _About a month into my stay at the Stark tower, my nightmares came back with a vengeance, this particular one was about my second foster family. I could hear myself screaming – I knew that it was a dream, but I couldn't wake up. All of a sudden there was a thud on the other side of the room, and I could see a shadowy figure in the doorway, gasping for air I tried to get a better look at whoever was there. Natasha. She was at my bed in a second, Bobbi following close behind her as they both climbed up beside me, whispering into my hair that I was safe. I threw myself into their arms, just as Daisy came into the room as well. We all fell asleep like that, wrapped in Natasha and Bobbi's arms, Daisy along the end of the bed. That's how Tony and Pepper found us that morning. And the next one._

Recalling those days put a smile on my face. Now, sandwiched between Natasha and Bobbi the world felt right again. It was going to be really odd when Oliver and Diggle arrived.


	4. Chapter 4

Felicity POV

Sitting and waiting for the message that Oliver's plane had taken off was sending my brain into overdrive. He was supposed to have left Starling airspace almost fifteen minutes ago, and it wasn't like Oliver to be late when it concerned Arrow business – Avengers business. After fiddling with some of the coding on a new algorithm that I was working on for a few minutes Oliver and Digg's trackers began to move and the Queen's private airport logged the flight at 'in transit'.

Making my way from the tech lab and into the Avengers control centre was still a feeling that took some getting re-assimilating. Having my sisters here helped – it was going to be anarchy once Oliver met them, as neither of them were his biggest fans. Soon enough the Queen jet entered Avengers airspace and was met by the Iron-Legion, who were to assist the plane to the hidden airfield. After being cleared for landing I sent an eight-word text to Oliver and made my way into the main living space of the tower.

"Anyone up for putting the fear of God into Oliver Queen?" I said to the room, having Nat and Bobbi's heads snap at me instantly. Sharing a knowing glance, we grabbed a set of keys from the guards shed and made our way to where the off-duty S.H.I.E.L.D vehicles were kept under the tower. With Nat in the driver's seat, all Bobbi and I could do was keep our knuckles from going white as she pushed the speed limits in order to reach the airstrip before the plane. During the drive over I attempted to explain the password to Nat and Bobbi – which almost caused a major crash because Nat couldn't contain her laughter. Waiting for the plane to arrive at the airfield – I couldn't help but smile as I thought about his reaction to the password, and how much he was going to hate that I told Nat and Bobbi.

Oliver POV

As Digg and I left Felicity's house, we didn't speak for a while. After grabbing the keys to Felicity's Mini and tossing them over to Digg, I folded into the passenger's seat and pulled out my phone to double-check the schedule Felicity had set out for the next two days.

When I woke up the morning of the meeting, I remembered how much I hated this entire plan. There were obvious flaws strewn through the entire thing – and no one would listen to anything I had to say. Felicity is in danger. Direct danger and everyone was acting like it isn't something to be concerned about – well they are, but not at the level that I am. She had been whisked away from me way too quickly, and I was still seething silently as I stalked into the Queen Consolidated building at 9 am. I didn't even look at the schedule that the temp filling in for Felicity handed me as I walked through to my office – I know exactly what it says. A 9:30 meeting with the one person who I'd like nothing more than to stick an arrow through then and there – the man I knew to be Grant Ward. But who had arranged a meeting as a Mr Dalton. I was struggling to keep my cool as the clock on my wall slowly ticked its way towards the half-hour mark. I kept having to remind myself that this man didn't think I was aware of his identity – and that he was there to propose a business deal with me, but my mind kept flashing back to the photographs that I had seen the day before, to the blonde woman who had been whisked away from me before I had the chance to process. Another snapped pencil brought me back to reality as the elevator dinged and a man in a charcoal suit stepped into view. Through the glass I could tell he was tall – and his shadow moved with the vibrato of a man filled with arrogance. He thought he was untouchable. As he rounded the corner to the office he faltered, seeing the mousy brunette sitting at Felicity's usual desk – something he hadn't been anticipating, apparently. Revelling in the man's temporary falter, he easily regained composure and sauntered up to the EA's desk and within a matter of moments was sitting across the table from me.

Listening to the easy drawl of his voice was making me more and more agitated by the second. He was clearly rehearsed in this cover – a Mr Brett Dalton, an up-and-coming businessman selling crypto-security with a very familiar layout to something a certain blonde had shown me a year ago as something she developed in College as a silly side project – the improved version of which was currently running in the lair beneath Verdant – not that the man across from me now knew that. An agonising 20 minutes later he had finished his pitch and was attempting to make small talk as I tried to usher him out of my office Diggle walked back in from his morning security briefing and immediately tensed at the sight of the man in front of him. Flashing a smile, Ward greeted Digg and made his way towards the door – but before exiting he turned around and addressed the room one last time.

"Next time I visit I hope to meet everyone on your team Mr Queen" he began, "I love the pictures they put in the papers, that EA of yours looks – Familiar" he finished with a sick fondness, exiting before he could see the looks of thunder that Diggle and I were shooting his way.

As soon as the elevator door closed, I shot out of my chair – grabbed the go-bags from beneath my desk and passed them to Digg. "We're leaving" I said, leaving no room for argument as Digg nodded in agreement, "I'll text Felicity from the car, let her know to give us the password and that we'll be in New York within the day – depending on what aircraft she's secured for us" he said as we made our way out of the building. Piling into the car Digg sped towards the airfield.

After boarding the plane, I was looking at my phone when a message from Felicity came through – it only had eight words, and I was going to make sure she paid for reminding me.

Felicity's POV

Finally, two figures immerged from within the Stark-jet and made their way down the gangplank.

"Maybe I should be the one to greet them – not shock them with you guys just yet," I said to Bobbi and Nat, much to their dismay as I moved a step closer to Oliver and Digg, leaving my sisters in the shadows – they enjoy their dramatic reveals.

"These look like bullet holes," I said to Oliver smiling "My coffee shop is in a bad neighbourhood" came the strangled reply as I threw my head back in laughter and watched Oliver snap to attention as my sisters immerged from the shadows behind me.

"Oliver – Digg, I would like you to meet my other sisters – you met Daisy the other day," I started when they looked puzzled at the use of other, but the looks were ones of pure shock when I introduced them "My sisters Natasha Stark-Romanoff callsign 'Black Widow' and Barbra 'Bobbi' Stark-Morse callsign 'Mockingbird'," I said proudly and couldn't help but surge with pride at the look Oliver was sporting at that moment. "These guys taught me almost everything I know about hand to hand combat" I continued as Oliver and Diggle attempted to regain their composure – looking from Bobbi to Nat to me. Not waiting for their reply, Nat linked her arm around mine and began walking back to the car with Bobbi, leaving the men to grab their bags and load them into the car as Nat took up the driver's seat before Digg could – and Bobbi nabbed the front seat from me, sighting that the guests were my problem. After loading everyone into the vehicle and beginning our drive back to Stark tower – Digg finally regained enough sense after Nat hit a particularly sharp corner to yell out "Your siblings are MOCKINGBIRD AND BLACK WIDOW" before the three of us completely broke down into another laughing fit.

The rest of the ride back to the tower was widely uneventful – other than Digg's outburst about Nat and Bobbi. Once we had entered the underground garage, I let my sisters head up the family's private elevator – hanging back with Oliver and Diggle to attempt an explanation. After a while I had explained the story of how we came to be siblings – stating how each of us had come from trauma and been adopted by Tony Stark, they seemed to come to an understanding of just how close my family are to each other.

"Now – before we go up this elevator there are a few other things that you need to be aware of," I started to explain as we headed towards the public elevator, "from this point on you will be under the direct supervision of JARVIS – the AI that my father built, he doesn't do much but research and monitor makes sure there is nothing endangering anyone in the tower. Nothing is recorded unless permission has been granted, or someone is under suspicion and no one can request surveillance footage from the rooms unless someone is injured or under suspicion from an unbiased source" I said quickly, ignoring the look I got from Oliver as we entered the elevator. "The main floor please J," I said to the empty space, "and add these guys to the trusted list – so none of this Miss Stark nonsense" I said sternly – much to the puzzled look from Digg.

"Of course, Felicity" the British voice of the AI replied – to the startled reaction of Oliver. Smirking slightly – I lead the boys into the main area of Stark Tower where the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, as well as the rest of my family, were waiting for their arrival. As Oliver and Diggle scanned the room, I saw them both visibly swallow at the sight of Uncle Nick – and sighed to myself. We better catch the ghosts from my past quickly, so the one that nightmare that is just beginning can also be put to rest quickly.

Stepping out of the elevator as quickly as possible – I made my way over to the gaggle of people that were staring down Oliver and Diggle, locking eyes with Uncle Nick I asked him with my eyes if he was up to speed. With a nod of confirmation, I went about introducing everybody to the Starling Team.

"Oliver Queen, John Diggle please meet the rest of my family," I said with a sweeping gesture – starting on the side furthest from where I was standing "my mum, Pepper Potts-Stark, CEO of Stark Industries, Uncle Nickolas Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, Maria Hill, Deputy-Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, and my almost brother Clint Barton callsign 'Hawkeye' and you've already had the pleasure of meeting Uncle Phil, Aunt May, Jemma, Fitz, Daisy, Nat, Bobbi, and dad," I said with a flourish as I spun back around to face the two men – whose jaw's hadn't quite made it back up from the floor.

"Maybe you should show your guests to their rooms on your floor Flissy" dad said, almost sensing the waves of rage that had been billowing off of Bobbi and Natasha since we had exited the elevator and their gazes locked onto Oliver – like someone had come to a startling realization between leaving them downstairs and now they needed to be watched. It was slightly unnerving.

"Yes! – let's do that!" I said grabbing them by the wrists and dragging them towards the elevator as I head Oliver whisper 'Floor" under his breath to Digg. "Take them up J" I said to the A.I "I'll meet you both up there in a moment" I said as the doors closed on them. Turning back around I looked to my family. They all had the same sort of looks in their eyes like they all knew something I didn't.

"Out with it – now" I sighed, knowing that they were all holding back while Oliver and Diggle were in the room. Mum was the first to step forward, placing a hand on my arm as dad spoke up.

"We came to the decision while you guys were heading up that they will be under observation while they're here Fliss – Nat ran into Oliver on a S.H.I.E.L.D mission, and he was working with the ARGUS Hydra cell," Dad said, holding up a hand mid-way through to silence my protests. At first hearing this unanimous decision from dad made me rather angry but when he said Hydra my heart stopped. Hydra was the one constant in my life that brought chaos. We found out shortly after my rescue that Ward was a Hydra sleeper agent and that Seldon was doing tech favours for ARGUS. So, every time someone was associated with these organisations everyone in my family took extreme caution. Swallowing slowly, I looked at my family – taking in each of their faces, I told Jarvis to prepare the guest floor. Putting some distance between myself and Oliver was probably a good thing – especially because Clint was here, and he and Nat had a habit of crawling through the ventilation system of the tower. Stepping into the elevator was like an envelope of relief. Sighing I asked Jarvis to take me to my floor where I'd sent Oliver and Digg.

Oliver's POV

After Felicity had put us into the elevator, I almost couldn't keep my head from spinning. Yes, my family is from old money – starting generations ago, the Queens had always had the best of everything, but they were still traditionalists, their houses were large stone mansions with sprawling gardens. The Stark fortune was only a few generations old – 2 to be exact. And they showed their wealth completely differently, a tall structure in the epicentre of the world – and wealth they had. As the elevator came to a stop on the floor labelled PF, the voice from the ceiling rung out;

"Mr Queen, Mr Diggle, please vacate the elevator – Master Clinton requires its use" shocked back into reality, Digg and I left the enclosed space and finally had a look at the space that unfolded in front of them. "Welcome to Mistress Felicity's private quarters. To the left corridor is the guest rooms, however, Master Stark has made arrangements for you two to have your own floor, located on level G4. I am happy to take you there once you have spoken to Miss Felicity."

"What did I tell you about the Miss J" Said Felicity – emerging from another elevator on the other side of the main room "This elevator is for Stark use only," she explained once she caught the look on my face, "In case there's something volatile in one of his labs and it needs to get out of the building without stopping or alarming anyone." She said – effortlessly flowing through the space, gesturing for Diggle and me to follow her around the corner. As we moved through the space it became unbelievably clear that this was a space that belonged to Felicity. There were blueprints for technology hung on the walls, intermittently with awards, degrees and papers, academic achievements spanning a lifetime, as well as a large number of vintage posters and to my surprise weaponry hung in one particular spot on the wall. The sunken living room gave the space a colossal feel as she moved through a kitchen to a coffee maker that once she placed a cup under automatically poured her coffee, she then fiddled with a button, typing my name into the holographic keypad that emerged from the machine. Since when did coffee machines have keypads – I thought to myself as she typed in more information and placed another cup under the nozzle, before handing me the cup and continuing the process for Digg. Sipping the beverage now in my hands – it was undoubtedly the best cup of coffee I have had in a while. Once she was finished, Felicity handed the next cup to Diggle and made her way to the centre of her living room and took a seat in a large purple armchair, pointing at the sofas. I made my way quietly over and sat down, Digg following as he sipped his own coffee.

"That coffee order is now in the system, place a cup under any machine that looks like that and Jarvis will make you the best cup you've ever had in your life. If you fancy anything different just give the old voice a request and he'll do his best to make it happen" she said, sipping her own cup, "Now, I'm assuming you guys have a lot of questions – I know it was kinda a shitty move to dump a whole pile of exposition and then disappear, but that's just how life is sometimes." She let out a long exhale before looking between Digg and me.

"In the vain of honesty – I'm going to let you guys know that my family don't trust you guys 100% yet. They are all high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D officials, and I guess I am as well. And they know that Oliver has ties to the Bratva, A.R.G.U.S and unfortunately through Waller – you've got ties to HYDRA as well." She said as I gulped. "I guess what I'm saying is you guys are getting your own guest floor, it will be ready in the next hour or so, and in the meantime, do you have any questions or concerns about having to live here?" she finished, looking again between Digg and me, eyes innocent.

There were a thousand thoughts flying through my head as I processed what she had just said, A.R.G.U.S, HYDRA, Bratva. In the eyes of S.H.I.E.L.D, all those organisations screamed TRAITOR or EVIL. Living in Stark Tower was going to be a living hell for a while.

Felicity POV

I could see the cogs turning in Oliver's head as he processed all that I had just told him. I probably wasn't supposed to mention the A.R.G.U.S or HYDRA stuff to them as the moment, but I figured they would be prepared for anything that Nat or Bobbi threw at them. It was going to take Oliver some getting used to – not being in charge all the time, I guess it was my job to play mediator for a while until Oliver proved his trustworthiness in the eyes of my family.

About half-an-hour of questions later Jarvis informed us that Digg and Oliver's floor was ready and that their bags had been moved in. Walking them to the public elevator, Jarvis took us down to floor G4 and Oliver and Diggle moved around their home for the foreseeable future.

After leaving them to get settled, I sunk against the wall of the elevator. "Your floor Felicity, I can have a bath drawn for you by the time you are back?" The artificial voice said, like music to my ears. "Please Jarvis, that would be amazing," I said into the empty space, watching the numbers creep up until I reached my floor.

Kicking off my shoes and walking straight into a bath at the perfect temperature was something that I had missed during my time in Starling. Something about not having an artificial assistant with access to everything just made life a little easier. An hour later I was wrapped up in my bathrobe and Tardis pyjamas, watching a documentary about technology on television when something shifted by the window in the dark behind me – startled I got up from my purple armchair and against my better judgement made my way towards where the sound came from. That's when I saw it. A small note attached to an arrow that had been lodged into a potted plant on my balcony. Gulping, I went back into my kitchen to grab a pair of gloves. Walking back to the note, I pushed a button on my phone that sent out a message to Nat, Bobbi, Daisy and Aunt May. I steadied my breathing and walked to the table in my living area, waiting for my four family members to get here.

I had just managed to get my breathing somewhat normal when Bobbi, Daisy and Aunt May ran out of the elevator, and Nat swung out of an air vent, Clint in close succession. Their eyes asked the question that polluted the air. Danger? I shook my head but pointed to the arrow and note sitting in the centre of the table. "This was in my plant pot outside – it's not one of Oliver's, or any of the other archers I've come across," I said slowly "I didn't want to open it alone."

May silently nodded, moving to sit next to me, and signalled for me to open the note. As my eyes scanned the note and its attached picture my vision began to blur, and my breathing shortened. Sharp inhales, struggling to intake any air, the air already there burning my lungs until my vision went black. For the second time in three days – I fainted into my aunt's arms.


End file.
